We like to talk about how New York is vibrant and alive...but the flipside of that is
that it's NOISY. We visit noise researcher Arline Bronzaft to chat about why
noise is so bad in the city and how it affects us; also, we try to hear
about what New Yorkers think about noise in their lives.

97 years ago this week, more than 100 workers
died when New York’s Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The fire was a catalyst for both labor
organizing and factory safety improvements, and the worst workplace
disaster until
September 11,
2001. This week
on Fordham Conversations, we look
back on that fire…and talk about what we can take from it today.

When you think of the beginning of the modern world…you don’t tend to
think of
the middle ages. But author Thomas Cahill says that’s just when it
began. We
talk with him about his book Mysteries of
the Middle Ages—it’s out in paperback this week from Anchor Books.

Sure, we all know that the President is one of the most important
people in the world...but what does the Presdident DO, exactly? As we
get ready for another round of primaries and eventually to actually
vote a new one in, we look with Fordham Political Scientist Jeffrey
Cohen on what the job really entails. Also, we talk with some New
Yorkers about what they think the president does--and should
be doing.